Birds of a feather
by Strykeruk
Summary: Nico and his sister Janet live in New York city. When Janet meets a charismatic con-man it is up to Nico to save the day and see how far he will go to keep those he cares about safe. Rated T for minor violence.
1. The Early Bird

**Hi guys, this is my first attempt at a fanfic and so will probably be not that great, if you have any advice for me don't hesitate to give it in the reviews or PM me, but first enjoy the chapter. Just going to say now that italics means it's a thought and not speech.**

It was a cold morning with a breeze winding its way through the dozens of identical streets that made up the suburb. It was a typical day in New York with the early risers slowly waking and preparing for another day of life. The monotonous landscape of dark green leaves and grey apartment blocks was suddenly punctuated by two flashes of startling yellow which went un-noticed by the resting populace.

The two flashes in question were a pair of yellow canaries, a rare sight in this area of the city where few could afford even a moderately exotic pet, especially if it didn't have any practical use for defence or as a sign of status. The two canaries were nearly identical from a distance with both being the same bright yellow shade with a cream colouring on their chests and brown feathers on the ends of their wings and tails. The similarities between the two were due to the fact that they were nearly identical twins. The one in front was the eldest (by five minutes), Janet who had bright blue eyes and a small patch of well-kept feathers on the top of her head which were currently wind swept.

'Hurry up slow-poke' Janet called behind her.

'It wasn't my idea to wake up this early!' Nico responded.

Nico was Janet's "little" brother, a fact she refused to let go, he was the same as her in many ways except for his eyes which were the colour of milk chocolate and the fact that the patch of feathers on his head was fluffed up and refused to flatten even with the wind rushing over them. Another major difference between them was that Nico was and never had been in any way, shape or from a morning bird.

'You know what they say, the early bird catches the worm' Janet replied promptly, 'and you never get the worm!' To which Nico had no response as they both knew she was right.

'Don't even like worms' He mumbled before flying harder to catch up.

The destination of the two birds was the local park which was in reality little more than a glorified football pitch with benches around the sides. Despite the cold and damp there were usually several birds there hoping to get hand outs from any passing humans. As Nico and Janet reached the park they immediately noticed several things, the first being the fact that there had clearly been some kind of celebration during the night as the area was strewn with rubbish and leftover food. The second was that they weren't the only ones to have found this out; at least a dozen pigeons were hovering up the food and didn't seem to be in a sharing mood much to the dismay of the two canaries.

The two of them flew down and landed beneath one of the park benches to remain out of sight.

'What now early bird?' smirked Nico

'shhhhh, I'm thinking' hissed Janet. She was looking over the scene trying to find a way to salvage the morning's meal. She suddenly looked up and turned to Nico 'I've got an idea'.

The pigeons were slowly eating all the food when Nico and Janet hopped up ont the top of the bench.

'Say Janet?' Nico called out. At the sound of his voice all the birds below stopped eating and looked up to see what was going on. 'I had I had a chick girl She wouldn't did me real wrong, I mean I did the same thing to her but She ain't have no right to do me like that though bird, for real'. When Nico finished rapping he hopped down out of sight whilst Janet quickly took over to keep the audience captive.

Janet quickly cried out with her melodic soprano voice which instantly fixed the attention of everyone.

'You, been seeing her, and I know And I was with him, and you knew about it…..

Whilst she sang she started to move around and dance to the beat. '….I wanna ask, has she been by the crib? Has she been in our, car? And did you let him, drive?...'

At this point she jumped off the bench and flew to the left whilst still singing and leading the audience to follow her. Taking his cue Nico edged out from where he had been hiding behind the bench. '…And it ain't a point to feeling blue you're just like me and I'm just like you'

As she reached the chorus she started belting out the lyrics to mask the sound of Nico leaping onto the field and grabbing a nearby empty bag of crisps. Looking up to check that he remained unseen he started moving along the field grabbing crumbs of bread and anything edible he could find whilst taking great care to stay silent. Looking around for more a more valuable catch he noticed a whole slice of bread next to a bin lid.

'Jackpot' he whispered to himself quickly glancing up to see how Janet was faring. She was performing ever more elaborate moves to keep the pigeons occupied. Nico reckoned he had another minute until the song ended and that he had to hurry. Flying over to the bread with his now half full bag he quickly started breaking it up into smaller bits, he was so absorbed with his work that he missed the sound of someone sneaking up on him. Glancing up he nearly cried out in shock as two rats were standing right in front of him.

Both rats were staring greedily at his bag and the bread between them both.

The larger of the two rats looked up menacingly at Nico 'Hello there little birdie, how nice of you to bring us breakfast' he chuckled.

'Back of the bag ratty' Nico said trying to sound more confident then he felt.

'Oh he wasn't talking about the bag' the other rat giggled to himself.

Suddenly the rats launched themselves at Nico who cried out in panic before kicking the bread at them and throwing himself backwards. Both rats cannoned into the bread and landed on Nico in a frantic melee of fur and feathers. In the confusion Nico slashed on of the rats across the face with one of his talons and managed to grab his bag in one the other before leaping out from under the bench. He had barely gotten a foot into the air before jerking to a stop, glancing down he saw one of the rats had grabbed on to the bag and was holding him back whilst the one Nico had clawed was still clutching it's snout in pain.

Janet was well into the last verse of her song and was still desperately trying to keep the crowd's attention whilst simultaneously wondering what was taking Nico so long. The last she had seen he had flown under a bench with a bag of what she hoped would be their food. '_He should be done by now'_ she thought '_otherwise we're in trouble'_. She knew that she couldn't keep the attention of so many hungry pigeons focused on her indefinitely and she didn't want to be stuck with an angry mob. She was reaching the end of her song when she noticed Nico come hurtling out from under the bench with the bag of food, her relief was short lived when she noticed the large furry mass clinging onto the bag.

Janet realised her mistake too late, she had stopped singing and several birds were turning around to see what she was staring at. Before they could take in the scene they were presented with Janet leapt off her perch and hurtled towards her assailed brother. One of the pigeons was more alert than the others and cried out 'look those rats have some food!' at this all the birds charged towards the bag.

Nico desperately tried to pull the bag away from the rat but he was running out of strength whilst all the rat had to do was hold on tight. He was quickly running out of ideas and beginning to panic when he was blasted away by a sudden impact, he lashed out at his attacker assuming it to be the other rat.

'Nico stop it's me!'

'Janet?'

'Yes you idiot now let's go now' Janet swiftly took to the sky.

Looking behind him Nico realised that the bag was now unattended as the rats were busy trying to fend off the growing mob of angry pigeons.

'I am NOT leaving empty taloned' he growled. He dashed over to the bag and struggled to lift it.

Janet flew down to him and grabbed the other end of the bag. 'Why are you so stubborn!' she screamed at him. Before Nico could respond he heard an enraged cry and looked up to see the larger of the two rats leaping at him. He threw himself backwards causing the rat to miss him; however they both landed on the bag forcing Janet to drop it. From Nico's view everything was a blur of grey as he tried to disentangle himself from the bag and the rat. Just as he managed to find his bearings he felt a sudden rush of pain and looked down to see a bloody gash down his right wing. Swallowing down the agony he launched himself away into the sky where Janet was already speeding away from the brawl below.

'**Whew', well that was a blast to write. This chapter is nothing like how it was supposed to be when I started writing but I just kept on getting new ideas. Hopefully you liked it :-). The song Janet was singing was 'just like me' by Jamie Foxx. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**Strykeruk out.**


	2. The Con man

**Well here we are chapter 2 and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I was nervous about how people would find my story but I'm glad that you like them. Anyway in this chapter I'm introducing a new character of mine whom I hope you "like'" And now without further ado on to the chapter.**

As the two canaries fled from the mayhem below them there was no way for them to know that they were being watched. Across the park a dark figure silently watched them whilst it thought carefully about what it had just been a witness to. He glanced down at the still ensuing fight and grimaced at the horrendous sound being made. Leaping off his perch he plummeted into the fray with a screech that froze the combatants below, without warning he raked a pigeon across the face before cannoning into one of the rats. He grabbed it around the throat and used his momentum to hurl it into its companion, for the already exhausted rats this was too much and they fled in a panic with the pigeons deciding (as usual) that fleeing was the best course of action. When all had fled the dark figure hopped over to the bag and perused it's now rather crushed contents with disdain. With a curse he cast it to one side and settled instead on a rather more intact piece of bread. Whilst enjoying his appetizer he noticed a glint of metal beneath a bench, approaching it he saw it was a small watch with a slightly cracked face, despite this it was still working.

'Hardly worth the effort' he muttered to himself picking it up, 'but then I did enjoy the show' chuckling darkly he took off leaving a wrecked field and a stunned populace cowering in the corners of buildings.

**XXX**

Meanwhile Nico and Janet were fleeing from the park as fast as they could. Below them the city was in full swing and already the sound of car horns was filling the air. Janet was swiftly leaving Nico behind as she didn't know he was injured. Noticing he was falling behind she called back 'Nico what's the matter with you come on!' she did however slow down a little to let her brother catch up.

When Nico reached here he was gasping in exhaustion, 'you… aren't the one who was… fighting a pair of rats' he said to her. Before she could respond they both realised they had made it back to their home. Nico and Janet lived in the attic of rundown apartment block, despite the seedy look of the place it suited them both fine as it was relatively isolated and they didn't have to worry about humans trying to clear them out as had happened before. The entrance to the attic was a small hole under the gutters which they had since widened to allow themselves in, it was too small to allow anything bigger than them in however and so offered a slight amount of security. Whilst the attic itself was huge Janet had found some stacks of bricks which isolated a corner. Since then they had moved twigs from outside in to make nests whilst also picking fluff off of abandoned jumpers to soften the area. Nico had also made a lucky find in the form of a wind-up radio which they used regularly to hold off boredom, it was also the reason for their extensive knowledge of songs. The open nature of their home meant they always knew what the weather was outside and they could guess the time by the light (or lack of it) peeping through holes in the roof.

Landing by her bed Janet spun around to address her now collapsed brother. 'how could you possibly lose all our food!' she cried 'it's not even like it was a difficult job, I mean come on Nico rats? Rats are the most stupid, noisy, obviou…' she stopped and glared at her brother 'are you even listening to me?' she jumped up to him 'hey what's…' she paused noticing for the first time the tears of pain that were moving down Nico's face.

**XXX**

The dark figure sliced through the air, weaving in and out of streets, dodging signs and ignoring the gasps his passing elicited. He was still pondering the events of the morning and he was slowly formulating a plan to turn events to his profit and that of his human companion. Long after the midday sun had risen he reached his destination, a run-down warehouse that despite the open environment seemed to exude a sense of unease. This suited him fine as it meant that few birds ever approached the warehouse unless they had no choice. He flew up to one of the windows on the lower floor and pecked at it three times in quick succession before standing back, 20 seconds later the window swung inwards and he swept into the room inside. The room was sparsely decorated with only a table and three chairs, there was also however a perch hanging from the ceiling which he quickly stood upon.

'ahhh Bruno, how good of you to join us' purred the man below. This was the dark figure/Bruno's master, he was a tall, thin, white man dressed in a business suit. 'i'll be right with you.' He turned back to the two men occupying the other two chairs.

'gentlemen if all is in order i will accept my pay and you may leave'. The two men looked at each other and both handed 450 dollars over, they then stood and walked to one of the corners where a bird-cage rested with a small male kakapo chick huddled in a corner inside, they threw a cloth over the cage before picking it up and leaving the building. Once they had left the man started chuckling before turning to Bruno with a grin.

'those fools have just paid 900 dollars for a budgerigar chick which is worth less than a tenth of that price' He stopped grinning and stared at Bruno before saying 'that does however mean we need to leave tomorrow before they figure it out'. He walked over to Bruno's perch 'so, what has my little Magpie found for me today?' he picked up the watch and examined before grunting and placing it in a box with other similar items. 'If there is anything you need to do go now.' He re-opened the window allowing Bruno back out into the chilled air.

**XXX**

'Nico..' Janet reached out to grab his wing. Nico slapped her hand away before jumping to his feet and walking away.

'Leave me alone' he called storming over to his nest.

'fine be that way, I was only trying to help' Janet shouted before flying out of the nest.

Nico instantly regretted his words but he knew that Janet would be back soon and he would have to apologise to her then. He hopped over to the wind up radio and turned it on before walking back to his nest and tried to get some rest whilst humming softly to the music.

**XXX**

Janet flew away from the apartments and up to the top of a nearby high-rise department store. She usually went up to this spot when she was upset as it had an amazing view across the city roof-tops. 'Stupid Nico' she muttered 'I was only trying to help'. However soon she realised that perhaps she had been a bit harsh shouting at Nico especially when he was in pain, she starting trying to think of the best way to apologise. She realised that she would have to wait a while as Nico would probably have started listening to music as he usually does when stressed, this would as usual lead to him sleeping for a bit which was good as Nico was always more agreeable when well rested. She rested her head on her wings and stared at the slowly setting sun as it reflected of distant skyscrapers. Janet was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice the figure that landed softly on the other end of the roof and slowly advanced towards her. Slowly Janet became aware of someone watching and glanced behind her, she gasped in surprise as standing before her was a magpie, he had jet black feathers covering his head and tail feathers, his wings were also black but his flight feathers were a pure white, this white was copied in a more gentle tone on the underside of his body the overall effect being that he looked like he was wearing a tuxedo.

'Are you alright little one?' He held out one of wings to help her up.

Janet ignored his hand and jumped to her feet. 'I'm fine thanks but i am not your little one' she snapped.

'So sorry' He held his wings up to his body 'I was flying by and i saw you sitting here, I thought you seemed troubled'

'Who are you?' Janet asked.

'Ah where are my manners? My name is Bruno talent scout extraordinaire at your service' He took a deep bow before straightening himself up.

'Talent scout huh' Janet said sceptically 'so what do you want with me?'

'I was not entirely honest just now, I have been looking for you for a while now' he said pointing a feather a Janet. She instantly stiffened and looked around nervously.

'No no no no no no' he stammered 'I simply meant that I saw your performance this morning'.

'Did you now' Janet asked crossing her wings and leaning back slightly.

'Yes and I must say I was extremely impressed', 'if your accomplice had taken more care you would have pulled it off too'.

'I don't know what you mean' Janet stammered.

'Please my dear I saw the whole affair. Where is your accomplice now?'

'His name is Nico and he's also my brother' she responded.

'I see. However that did not answer my question' Bruno seemed mildly amused by her attempts at being circumspect.

'we umm.. had an argument'. Janet looked at the ground embarrassed.

'Oh dear me, well i tell you what, if you come with me i will show you where the singers i have recruited are. Whilst we're there you can get something to apologise to ...Nico'.

Janet stood there thinking to herself _'i don't know, he seems nice enough but...'_

'Please minha canção-passarinho' he purred.

'your Portuguese' She exclaimed in surprise.

'yes, it helps to be multi-lingual in my line of work. Now how coming to meet the others?'.

'Well... alright I'm sure Nico will be fine for a bit'.

With that the two Birds, one bright yellow the other deep black and pearly white took off and headed away towards the warehouse.

**Author's note- Dun dun duuuu. What's going to happen to Janet? Well I hope you find Bruno sufficiently villainous. I tried to make him physically intimidating (not as much so as Nigel though) whilst also charismatic in an evil way. If i get any of my attempts at portuguese wrong please correct me. Please review and tell me what you think. I'm going to try to get at least one more chapter done before Wednesday when I return to school but no promises :-)**

**P.S. Small competition: i need help naming Bruno's master, he is an American with Brazilian origins. If you have any ideas leave them in your review or PM me.**

**Strykeruk out.**


	3. The talent scout

**Authors note: Well here we go chapter 3, I am currently finding time to write around my school work so updates may not be as fast as I would like, however I will still keep writing to the best of my ability. For now however let us return to New york for more Birds of a feather and another own character.**

He'd turned the radio off an hour ago and started pacing soon after, it was beginning to get dark and shadows were playing against the ceiling whic only served to heighten his increasing sate of nervousness. Nico was walking in circles (and thinking in them too), he looked down at his wing for the fourth time this minute in an attempt to distract himself, he'd already cleaned it up with a small doll's teacup he and Janet used to hold water and thankfully it was nowhere near as bad as it had looked with only a small scar and a bit of an itch to remind him of the pain he had felt earlier. He and Janet had argued before, how could they not have after all they were brother and sister but she had never stayed mad at him for THIS long before! Once again he replayed the day in his mind and tried to think what could have made this argument worse than any others and once again his mind came up blank. All Nico could do was stare at the entrance to their home and whisper softly "I'm sorry, Please come back!" before resuming his pacing around the floor.

After about five minutes Nico was working himself up into a frenzy imagining every possible thing that could be wrong. Suddenly he heard a flutter of wings and whirled around hope filling his face "Janet?!" His face quickly fell again as standing before him was a sparrow, almost identical in every way to every other sparrow except for one thing, he was tiny! The little sparrow barely came up to Nico's shoulders and was stood still, confused and shocked by the expression on Nico's face.

"sorry bud, just me" with that he gave a little flourish and spun on the spot. "but hey what's got you so worked up?", Nico looked at the floor with embarrassment and started drawing circles with one talon. "Come on Nico you know you can tell little old Frankie" he said with a mischievous tone of voice.

"It's, Janet, we argued earlier and she still hasn't come back" Nico said.

"How serious was it?"

"Not serious at all and it was hours ago!" Nico cried in exasperation.

"Don't worry my friend i'm on it remember, you know Frankie and Frankie knows everybody" As he said this he threw his wings to either side as if to indicate the whole of New York. "I'll find her and you owe me one, deal?"

"Fine deal" Nico said after a moments thought. He stuck out his wing which Frankie promptly shook before leaping up and speeding off

"Be back soon" he called

"I hope so" muttered Nico before resuming his pacing.

'XXX

Meanwhile five miles away two figures approached a solitary warehouse devoid of sound.

"Bruno, how much further to this talent your so keen to show me?" Janet asked landing on a roof top. She'd been following Bruno for what seemed like hours and was getting tired and just a little apprehensive. She realised that the longer she waited the more likely Nico would over-react, and when he over-reacted the results could be, well, interesting.

"Don't worry my dear" Bruno murmered putting his wing on her shoulder "everyone will be delighted to meet you. And i'm sure Nico will be more than happy when you return." With that he jumped into the air leaving Janet with little choice but to follow (she had left her area of comfort long ago and was now quite lost). Soon the warehouse came into view. Janet began to slow, she noticed the perpetual silence that hung over the area and deep down felt a twinge of fear. She looked up and saw Bruno flying ahead. _'come on' _she thought _'stop being stupid, it's only a building, what would Nico think seeing you so scared?' _She swallowed her nerves and carried on, she flew up to where Bruno had landed next to one of the lowest windows.

"right through here Meu querido" Bruno held the window open, gesturing inside whilst slightly bowed showing himself like a chivalrous gentleman.

Janet edged up to the entryway and tried to peer into the shadowy depths inside but couldn't make out anything.

"you know what Bruno, thanks for the offer but I think I'm gonna go now" She took a step backwards still fixated on the darkness inside. She heard Bruno step up behind her.

"tsk, tsk, tsk wrong answer my dear" he murmured in her ear.

"What are you tal..." Janet started to say before suddenly Bruno slammed his entire body at her hurling her into the warehouse. The sudden darkness made her lose all sense of sight and she flew around in disorientation. She spotted the light of the window and turned towards it but a pair of talons locked around her body with an iron grip and she was lifted higher and thrown into a cage. Her head smacked into the bars and through the stars in her vision she saw a giant hand reach up and shut the cage door before snapping a padlock onto its slide bar with a deafening 'Click'. She ran up to the entrance and looked around her.

"BRUNO!" She cried out "what ARE you doing!" She heard a chuckling to her right and turned to see a pair of brown human eyes staring at her from through the bars.

"Well, well, well Bruno what have you brought me today?" The man turned to face the magpie who was resting on his perch. "She'll certainly be worth something to one of my Brazilian clients, he loves his songbirds". With that he turned away and began clearing up equipment he had strewn across the room. "Bruno get ready we'll be leaving soon".

Bruno flew up to Janet's cage and clung onto the side. Janet ran over to him "Why are you doing this? You told me you were a talent scout, aaarggh I'm such an idiot".

"No my sweet, you see i am a talent scout it's just that the talent isn't always completely willing to travel. My job is to... persuade them" He laughed menacingly before leaping off the cage causing it to swing and pitch Janet off her feet. "Nico will find me" Janet called.

"I hope he does, two birds are much more valuable than one" Bruno's voice floated out of the gloom. Janet fell down as the hopelessness of her situation slowly began to dawn on her, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she buried her face in her wings _'oh Nico, I'm so sorry' _she thought as the darkness closed in around her.

XXX

Where before he had been scared now he was truly hysterical and he'd run out of reasons for Janet's absence that weren't drastic. It was killing him that he couldn't go out and search after all what could he do that Frankie couldn't, he also wanted to be home in case anyone did come back. He was tempted to turn the radio back on but he knew the music wouldn't help, utering a growl of frustration he turned and booted a small pebble across the room, straight towards Frankie who was entering the room. Frankie leapt to the side with a cry of surprise "Whoa Nico what did i ever do to you!".

"Frankie" Nico noted with surprise "What are you doing here. Did you find where Janet is?!" Even Nico could hear the edge of desperation in his voice.

"Yeah i know where she is, for now. Where she'll be very soon however is another matter" Frankie exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Said a slightly confused Nico

"She's in some creepy warehouse on the other side of the city, thing is birds who go in there don't come out" Frankie's voice had dropped to a whisper.

"Well we have to go get her!" Nico leapt into the air and sped out of the attic leaving Frankie trailing behind. Unlike Janet, Nico had a more inquisitive nature and therefore knew where the warehouse district was. As he flew along he was like a blur of colour in the night-time city with Frankie desperately trying to catch up.

"Yo, Nico slow down a moment!" He cried out "Do you even know which warehouse to go to?". With reluctance Nico slowed a little allowing Frankie to catch up with him and take the lead. They flew on in silence for another ten minutes whilst Nico's head was filled with images of Janet trapped, hurt or worse and it was driving him mad. Before long they left the public places behind them and were in a vast field of warehouses. Frankie led Nico further and further from the middle untill finally he came to a stop on top of one of the warehouses and pointed at one that seemed to stand isolated from the others.

"That's the one you want my friend" Frankie whispered "Good luck getting Janet out".

"Aren't you coming too?" Nico looked over at Frankie who's chest was heaving and his feathers were ruffled in fear.

"Nah I'm good, I'll wait here and keep watch". Nico knew that arguing with Frankie was pointless especially when he was already in his debt. So without further words he jumped off the roof and glided over to the other warehouse. Looking around he noticed a ventilation shaft that had lost its covering and he squeezed himself into it. There was barely any light in the vents and Nico was forced to go by way of sound. Slowly he worked his way downwards to where he could hear a very faint clanging that was definitely not some piece of machinery. It wasn't long before he found himself against a grate which looke into a relatively small room, in it he saw a tall thin man loading the last of some cages and boxes into the back of a van. Peering desperately into the dark Nico spotted a small patch of yellow in the very last cage which could only be one thing _'Janet!' _Silently he worked at the screws holding the bottom of the grate in place with his talons and before long he'd created a space large enough for him to slip through. He fluttered over to the cage before peaking in and calling softly "Janet is that you?" the small heap of feathers suddenly snapped up straight and whirled around to see him.

"Nico, what are you doing here" Janet hissed as she jumped over towards him "you've got to get out of here!".

"I'm not going without you"Nico said stubbornly as he hopped over to the padlock and began examining when Janet suddenly cried

"Nico!" before he was brutally slammed away and a talon curled itself around his neck.

"Ah you must be the little brother" Bruno muttered with a chuckle.

"Let her go" Nico gasped as he wriggled around trying to free himself.

"Oh I'm sorry but i can't do that you see we have an arrangement. Janet here is an excellent singer and I can't just let such talent go to waste!" Bruno put extra emphasis on the last words before spinning around and hurling Nico against the wall. With a sickening crack Nico hit the wall and slid down to the floor.

"NICO!" screamed Janet frantically throwing herself against her cage.

"Now, now my dear" mocked Bruno "It's time to go and we mustn't be late." Janet felt her cage get lifted up and she was place into the back of the van. Her last sight was of Nico's crumpled body before the doors slammed shut.

"NICO!".

**Author's note: Dun dun duuuu poor Nico is he alright? I have to be honest this chapter is very different from how i planned when it started, especially Frankie who wasn't going to be quite so important but seemed to become rather key to this chapter. As ever please leave a review and any advice you have. Do you like the story? And how about the characters? Also my competition for the name of Bruno's master is still open untill next chapter :-)**

**Strykeruk out.**


	4. The past

**Authors note- Well here I am writing another chapter :D This chapter is going to be mostly backstory as little is actually happening to Nico and Janet what with one in a cage and the other out cold. To clarify matters now the parts in italics are in the past as they are technically thoughts. Next chapter I am going to try and introduce another own character to help give Bruno more than one side. On a side note congrats to Winterbyrd for finishing his first fanfic Heartsong. **

"NICO!". He felt his body flying through space, tumbling as he desperately sought to regain his orientation before he felt his head collide with an unforgiving barrier and everything began to go black, the last thing he saw before fading out was the van doors closing on the image of Janet's face frozen in a rictus of horror. "NICO!".

'_One year earlier'_

"_Nico are you listening to me?"_

_Nico snapped out of his reverie and looked up at Janet who was perched on the edge of his nest staring at him._

"_Hmm... yeah sure... what were we talking about?"_

_Janet glared at him disapprovingly, in response Nico gazed up at her with his best puppy dog eyes._

"_Argh you are so annoying sometimes" Janet said throwing her wings in the air. Despite himself Nico gave a little smirk, it was nearly impossible for Janet to stay mad at him unless he had done something really bad and if he had he usually had a back up to help make up for it._

"_I was saying we're running low on food and it's YOUR turn to go get some" With this Janet poke one of her flight feathers in Nico's face making him go cross-eyed._

"_aww come on Janet have a heart" Nico pouted "its freezing outside"._

"_I have a heart, but I also have a stomach which right now is empty. Besides you weren't exactly merciful when I had to go three days ago, when it was raining!" On the word raining Janet dug her wings under Nico and rolled him over so his face was pressed into the nest. Nico got up slowly emphasising every ache in his body so much that he seemed to be an infirm old bird._

"_Oh you cruel fiend" Nico moaned, hauling himself out of the nest._

"_Just go already!" Janet shouted, throwing a twig at him. Nico leapt up losing all pretence of lethargy and grabbed the twig in one talon before spinning and throwing it to the side of Janet so it embedded in her nest. He gave a quick bow and fled before a stunned Janet had time to try again._

_Once he was outside Nico started chuckling even as he realised he'd have to get some pretty good grub to make up for it 'soo worth it' he thought. He quickly wheeled around and headed east towards one of the shopping centres in the area. When he eventually reached it he was forced to perch on an opposite building looking for an opportunity to get in, finally after an agonising wait he saw his chance, an old man was headed for the entrance on his Zimmer frame. Nico stood and watched carefully as the man approached a pair of automatic door. As soon as they opened he leapt of the ledge and folded his wings in causing him to quickly pick up speed and, taking carefull aim he shot through the doors just as they closed behind him. Inside the center was open with a glass ceiling and tree's running down the middle, this gave Nico plenty of places to hide whilst searching. He wasn't the only one as he saw several others birds also looking for items (usually food but sometimes other things like nest material). Despite the large human presence soon Nico was holding a discarded bag of half full McDonald's chips covered in ketchup and was soon out of the center and flying back home._

_"if this doesn't make her leave me alone i'm not sure what will" He muttered to himself. Just then he noticed a commotion coming from a roof over to his left, unable to simply fly on he slowed down hoping to see what was so exciting. Getting closer he saw a crowd of pigeons surrounding what appeared to be the worlds smallest sparrow, as he watched one of the pigeons stepped forwards and pushed the sparrow onto the ground._

_"HEY!" Nico called "What's going on here?". The pigeon looked up at him._

_"This ain't your problem bird, get outta here!" The bird spun and delivered a kick to the sparrow sprawled on the ground._

_"Hey!" Nico called again. The pigeons all rounded on him._

_"What did i say to... are those?.." Nico noticed the hesitation in his voice._

_"What deep-fried McDonald chips covered in ketchup?" Nico mused "why yes i do believe they are". He moved the bag to one side and noticed all the eyes following it, he moved it in circles slowly before quickly tossing the bag at the pigeons only for it to fall short and drop towards the street below. As one the pigeons leapt off the building crying angrily as they tried to get there first. Shaking his head Nico flew down to the sparrow who was rising to his feet unsteadily and dusting himself down._

_"hey you alright? My name's Nico" Getting close Nico realised the sparrow was fully grown and that he was in fact the smallest sparrow he had EVER seen._

_"I'm Frankie and thanks, i don't know how i was going to get out of that." Frankie hopped to the edge of the building and looked down at the pigeons busy fighting each other._

_"good job pigeons are so food obsessed"._

_"Yeah" Nico chuckled, he quickly turned thoughtful and looked at Frankie "but what were they after you for?"._

_"Well you sir are looking at THE most popular and knowledgable sparrow in New York City because i know everybody" He put extra emphasis on the everybody as if to confirm tit to himself. "if anybody wants to know who people are talking about or who to, they ask me. Unfortunately the answers they get aren't necessarily the ones they want hence the erm slight misunderstanding you just intervened in. You just saved my life and for that i am in your debt although i am afraid i must ask a favour" Frankie suddenly seemed a lot less upbeat than when he had given his introduction._

_"And what might that be" Nico asked with a wry grin._

_"Well that food is almost out and i need a place to lay low could i umm stay with you for a while.. Just a day or two no more i promise!" Frankie was pleading with Nico desperation in his voice._

_"Hey it's not me you need to convince" he gave Frankie a wink then jumped into the air "time for you to meet Janet"._

_XXX_

_"NO!" Janet said for what seemed the hundredth time "he is not staying here. First you lose our food for him but simply bringing him here is dangerous."._

_"Come on Janet he's in danger and you know it's the right thing to do" Nico was getting annoyed. They couldn't just ignore him!_

_"Please Mrs Janet I promise to be no trouble whatsoever and i will owe you forever" Frankie was pouring every ounce of charm and charisma he could muster into his plea._

_"You know what FINE he can stay" Janet fixed Nico with a death glare "but he stays in Your nest and eats your food tonight". Nico knew it was pointless to protest._

_"Sure, okay, no problem". Janet wheeled off and stalked to her nest. Frankie let out a quick sigh and looked up at Nico._

_"thank you so much.. you know what I'm going to make this up to you, whatever you want I'll find it and that's a promise. For now i can let you in on the location of a nice supply of broken electronics. Who knows you might find something good"._

_XXX_

'Present day'

Nico cracked his eyes open a fraction then instantly screwed them shut again as what seemed to be a strobe light instantly drilled into his head which was pounding like a drum. Slowly he cracked them open again and tried to sit up only to gasp and collapse when agonising pain shot through his body.

"Ah for the love of Samba!" he gasped as he fell back down.

"ey, ey, ey Nico take it easy" looking up Nico saw Frankie who was running over to him.

"What happened" Nico asked, bewildered. Looking around he saw he was back in his nest at home he looked left to see where Janet was and noticed she was gone. Suddenly the events of the last few days flashed through his mind and he sat up and grabbed Frankie ignoring the pain in his panic.

"Where's Janet!" he cried gripping Frankie's shoulders.

"Nico calm down ok, take a deep breath, lie down and we'll talk okay?" Frankie talked in a reassuring tone of voice and Nico slowly unwound his wings and leant back down with a groan as his muscles made themselves known once more.

"alright you calm now?" Nico gave Frankie a slow nod. "Here's what you missed. I was waiting outside for you and it had been a while when the warehouse opened and this van came out. At first I panicked and thought you were in it so I followed it for a couple of miles till it stopped for gas and this creepy guy and a magpie got out. Because of my size I'm pretty good at sneaking around so I flew down and got into the van through a small opening in the window... Man it was horrible there were cages everywhere with about five of them occupied. I looked around and saw Janet but not you." He saw Nico's eyes snap open at the mention of her name. "Whoa relax she was fine when I saw her, but she told me what happened and there was nothing I could do to help her, we were running out of time and I don't know the first thing about picking locks. I got out as quick as I could but not before noting their number plate."

"good thinking" Nico muttered.

"Thank you. Anyway I got to the warehouse as fast as I could and found you out cold. No way I could lift you so I called in some favours and got some birds to bring you back here and patch you up as best they could. That was three days ago..."

"Three days!" Nico cried "they could be anywhere by now!".

"No, no, no listen I called in every favour I have and basically bankrupted myself but I found out where they're headed from some budgie who escaped the people she'd been sold to. She said they have a regular route that goes from New York to Rio de Janeiro and back via New Orléans" Frankie finally finished speaking and looked at Nico expectantly. Nico thought carefully before making up his mind.

"Then that's where we're going" He said decisively.

"I know. And that's why I sold all your stuff for favours to get us there" Frankie said nonchalantly

"You what?!" Nico spluttered astounded at Frankie's forethought.

"Come on man I've known you way to long to thin you'd just let her go and besides I still owe you my life, it's the least i could do. One condition though."

"What's that?" Nico hoped it wasn't serious.

"I'm coming with you. Because you" he pointed at Nico's bandaged wing and head "are in no state to travel alone".

**Author's note- Well then there we go a little bit of backstory for Frankie and Janet and setting up the scene. I was going to do a scene with Janet and some singing in but i didn't realise that the flashback would be quite so large and entertaining to write so they will come next time. It also gives me chance to prepare for at least one song next time and if it fits maybe two! Thanks to all who have reviewed and for those who've given name ideas for Bruno's master.**

**P.S. there was a link in the flashback to chapter two's description of there home. Cookie (metaphorical) to whoever gets it :D**

**Strykeruk out.**


	5. The Magpie and the Rook

**Authors note - Hello once again my viewers and fellow fanfic writers it is I Strykeruk your gracious author. I have no idea why I wrote that…. Any who this is chapter Is going to have a lot of good bits in it if all goes to plan (this was initially going to be part of last chapter but that one become its own full-fledged chapter). This chapter has Janet in again and I have thought of how to develop her story whilst she's in transit! And now onto the story….**

"Nico!" Janet cried. As the doors slammed shut on her the last she saw of her brother was his body lying crumpled on the ground. "NO" She threw herself at her cage bars "Let me out of here!" Once more she slammed into the bars before falling into a heap as the sound of the van driving away drowned out here protests. She curled herself into a ball and began to sob quietly in the darkness.

"Now now um pouco you mustn't cry so much or you'll lose your precious little voice" Bruno stalked up to the cage chuckling and staring at the deflated Canary.

"You monster!" Screamed Janet leaping at Bruno even though she couldn't hope to reach him.

"There we go" Bruno said smugly nodding his head "Much better than tears" He laughed maniacally before taking off to the front of the van were a clear window separated the front section. He used his talon to slide it open before stepping through and shutting it behind him with a resounding thud. Once again Janet was faced by silence as she fell down and curled into a ball. Time passed in a daze before she realised that the van had stopped and Bruno and his master had left.

"Janet?" She heard someone speak her name softly.

"Frankie is that you?!" Janet gasped and looked up to see the diminutive sparrow staring at her with concern etched on her face.

"Yes I'm here to get you out" he hopped over to the lock on her cage and peered into it.

"Do you actually know what you're doing?" Janet asked, smiling to herself for the first time in a while.

"Well umm i er.. no not really, but don't worry I'll think of something" He started glancing around before getting a puzzled look on his face. "Erm.. where's Nico?"

Janet suddenly slapped herself "Nico! you didn't see him?!" Her mind flashed back to his crumpled form.

"I thought he was with you" Frankie was still confused and Janet realised they were running out of time.

"No he's back at the warehouse, the magpie Bruno attacked him. You've got to go help him"

"I'm not leaving you behind"

"You have to!" Seeing Frankie's indecision Janet said "listen you can't get me out nad Bruno will be back soon. If you don't go help Nico he could die. Please Frankie".

Frankie glanced at her cage lock one more time before nodding and flying up to the barrier separating the two halves. "We'll find you Janet. I promise." and with that he stepped through and shut it behind him before jumping out through the driver side window and disappearing from view. What seemed like moments later Bruno flew through the same opening and was followed by his master who quickly started up the engine and began to drive off. Bruno glanced through the plastic partition before becoming satisfied that nothing had changed and jumping down to the passenger seat. Janet sighed with relief, realising that at least now Nico had someone to help him.

"It's been a long time since I last saw loyalty like that" a soft voice chimed from a cage close to Janet. For the first time she looked at one of the other occupants. Standing up in a nearby cage was Rook, as the light from the window played over her her feathers seemed to shimmer with a faint blue iridescence. When the light had left she faded to a near perfect black that blended with the shadows. "Most birds who get caught have no one to look out for them. You must have made an impression on Bruno for him to take a risk like that."

"Who are you?" Janet queried "And how did you get here?".

"Ah where are my manners?" She took a slight bow and said "my name is Maria" She straightened herself up and took a more serious tone of voice "as for how I got here... Bruno and I go back a long time" Her eyes faded as memories took over her sight. "He wasn't always the cruel smuggler you've witnessed, there was once a more caring side to him."

"What do you mean?" Janet was finding herself intrigued by Maria and the deep emotions she seemed to be repressing.

"Years ago he when we were both young he was kind, caring and everything a girl could want and more, he had a talent for finding valuable things, even more so than most magpie's we even gave him the nickname Goldeneye..." Maria suddenly started tapping her talon on the wooden floor of her cage creating a steady beat, a few other birds joined in with varying beats and sounds.

"Saw reflections on the water  
More than darkness in the depths" Janet was both shocked and amazed at the clear Contralto voice issuing from Maria's beak and the sudden confidence that seemed to emanate from her, the only time she'd ever seen something similar was when Nico sang.  
"Saw him surface and never a shadow  
On the wind I'd feel his breath

Golden eye, I'd found his weakness  
Golden eye, he'd do what I pleased  
Golden eye, no time for sweetness  
But a bitter kiss would bring him to his knees" After each utteration of Bruno's nickname a scarlet Macaw across the room let out a cry oddly reminiscant of some kind of brass instrument. _No wonder he counted as 'talent' _Janet thought to herself.

"He'd never known how I watched him from the shadows as a child  
He'd never known how it felt to be the one who's left behind  
He'd never known the days and nights, the tears, the tears I'd cried  
But then my time had come and time, time was not on his side" Maria had remained near static during the start of her song but was becoming more vibrant often gesturing and had there been room she would likely have danced.

"Saw him move through smoke and mirrors  
Felt his presence in the crowd  
Other girls they gathered around him  
When I had him I wouldn't let him out" Taking a quick breath Maria looked over at Janet and winked before opening her beak and singing out even more forcefully than before.

"Golden eye, not lace or leather  
Golden chain took him to the spot  
Golden eye, I showed him forever  
It'd take forever for him to see what I'd got" In her mind Janet tried to picture a younger more innocent pair than the Rook she could see and the Magpie who had harmed her but she could still not find any goodness to create a likeness of Bruno with.

"He'd never known how I watched him from the shadows as a child  
He'd never know how it felt to get so close and be denied  
It's a gold and honey trap I'd got for him that night  
Revenge was a kiss that time I didn't miss  
Once I had him in my sight

With a golden eye  
Golden, golden eye  
With a golden eye, golden eye" Slowly Maria's voice faded out to silence and the birds in the van slowed the beat untill no sound remained except for the slow rumble of the engine.

"You see Janet it's my fault that he has become the bird he is. I loved him and decided to make him love me. To that end I spurned all his gifts and attention even as they became extravagant beyond compare untill it drove him insane. What I failed to see was that any love he felt for me was becoming a love for his gifts."

"But how did you end up here with him being such a monster?".

"By the time I realised what I was doing to him it was too late and he was terrifying, he'd become fixated on more and more jewels and he learnt the best way to get them was to steal them. To that end he joined up with that smuggler Leandro" Maria let out a small sob. "I tried to leave but he was obsessed and I ran from him".

"By Samba" Janet gasped realising the horror that must have been Maria's life.

"For two years I hid from him, running from town to town all over Brazil but one day he found me and locked me up. He never lets me go and he likely never will. And now other birds suffer for my mistake, I only hope this doesn't destroy you as well." Maria looked down and walked to one of the corners of her cage beofre slumping into the corner.

"Don't worry Maria, Nico will find us and then we'll all get out of here." Janet was trying to fill her voice with hope but even she knew how feeble she sounded.

"You'd better hope he doesn't because if he does Bruno won't make the same mistake twice."

**XXX**

"Slow down Nico" Frankie was flying desperately, trying to keep up with Nico who after two days rest was almost bursting in his desire to follow Janet. "You don't even know who our travel guides are!". At this Nico slowed a little but was still flying furiously.

"Why do we need guides? We know where Janet will be".

"That's true but unless you plan to fly all 1,300 miles to New Orléans then we're going to need a ride." Frankie took a slightly smug tone of voice as he realised Nico was slowing and letting him catch up. "As it so happens it's just over there" Frankie pointed over at a small house with a garage attached, outside it was a red Pickup truck which had piles of equipment in it. Gliding down to it they both landed on the sides and looked in at the boxes stacked in front of them.

"So who is our guide? What does he look like" Nico asked jumping down into the truck to look for any signs of life.

"She is standing right behind you" A voice purred into Nico's ear causing him to freeze and slowly turn around, crouching in front of him was a brown striped tabby cat with a blue collar gazing at him intently. Nico gulped nervously.

"Errrr Frankie little help here". Frankie fluttered down to him chuckling softly.

"Nico meet Veronica, Veronica Nico" he gestured at the two of them.

"Charmed" Veronica held out one of her paws lazily as if it was a great effort. Nico looked at it nervously before seeing Frankie nodding at him took it in one of his talons.

"You could have told me our guide was a cat" Nico hissed at Frankie.

"What and miss the look on your face, never. Besides nothing wrong with cats." As he said this Veronica yawned showing off her fangs.

"Except that cats eat birds" Nico said matter of factly, staring at Veronica claws as she stretched.

"Mmmmmm most do but I much prefer rats and mice, never could stand feathers or the effort it takes to catch you flying little things." Veronica stood and walked towards the front of the truck as a human (presumably her owner) reached over and scratched her behind the ears making her purr softly before getting into the front and starting the engine. "I'd recommend you two get yourselves comfortable and find somewhere to sleep, it's going to be a long journey to New Orléans." With that she padded into a space between two boxes where a blanket, cushion and two bowls (one for food the other water) had been placed and curled herself into a ball and instantly fell asleep. Nico and Frankie looked around before finding two shallow bowls and filled them with fluff from Veronica's cushion. They scavenged among the boxes and found some nuts and a bottle of water which they tipped into Veronica's bowl. They both jumped into their make-shift nests, Nico wondered what he was going to do to stave off boredom when the driver switched on his radio and smooth Jazz filtered back to him.

"Now that's better" Nico mumbled before slipping into unconsciousness his last thoughts of his sister and the hell she must be in.

**Author's note- wow that chapter was my longest yet and once again it was longer than I expected lol. The song if you hadn't guessed was Golden eye by Tina Turner. I hope you're all liking the story and my own characters, sorry if the song scene wasn't great I'm still new to all this and i couldn't add much because they were all in cages. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and special mention to Winterbyrd who came up with the name for Bruno's master. Originally I wasn't going to have a cat in this chapter but i decided that more Bird OC's would get dull and a dog wouldn't work in my opinion and thus Veronica came to be. Next chapter is hopefully going to end with all birds nearing Rio and if not the one after that will. :D**

**Strykeruk out.**


	6. Escape from La Nouvelle-Orleans

**Author's note- sorry that this one is late; I've had loads of school work in the pre-holiday weeks. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and PM'd me. This chapter is going to be hopefully the last before we get tantalizingly close to Rio De Janeiro :D Enjoy. **

**P.S. the XXX signifies a change in scene or a differnt point of view.**

"I'm bored!" Groaned Nico for what seemed to be the hundredth time he was lying flat on his back in the bowl gazing up at the clouds above him.

"I know Nico" Frankie murmured for what seemed like the thousandth time, whilst he too was bored having lived alone for most of his life he was better at dealing with boredom than the usually energetic bird now confined to a limited space (something guaranteed to aggravate any bird). For the last two days they had constantly been on the move and they were now deep in the south, and the weather showed it with the sun beating down on the two birds and Veronica who however was taking the opportunity to 'catch up on her beauty sleep'. Every time they'd stopped for a while Nico would zoom of into the sky and burn as much energy as he could before having to once again settle down on the truck lest it leave without him.

"But the music sucks!" Nico cried almost sobbing to himself at the horror of his own words, unfortunately Frankie agreed, after the first few songs which sounded good Veronica's owner had turned on 'Frankie shuddered to himself' Heavy metal which even to his less musically adept mind seemed to consist of nothing but screeching guitars and screaming men. Not the kind of music to relax to. Nico groaned once again and Frankie looked over to see him half leaning, half draped over the edge of the bowl, he was starting to worry that if they didn't find something for him to do and soon he'd go insane. He hoped out of his bowl and started to wonder around the trailer, peering in boxes and between fabrics before finally spotting something that warranted attention a small wooden thimble lying in a box with other sowing equipment. While noting that a seemingly single man having sowing gear was odd Frankie was none the less glad it was there and proceeded to lift it out of the box. This wasn't easy since due to his size meaning it came up to his waist, finally however he wrestled it onto the truck bed and rolled it over to Veronica. "Hold this" he whispered before darted back into the boxes leaving a bemused cat with the thimble covering one of her claws. Several minutes later he reappeared with some string again from the sowing box which he proceeded to wrap three strands of string around the thimbles opening.

Giving the jury-rigged guitar an experimentry pluck with his talons he produced several low notes which he thought sounded nicely in tune. Looking up at the cat gazing at him with curiosity he said "just follow my lead" before picking up the thimble and moving closer to where Nico was lying. He cleared his throat to get Nico's attention but when that failed to elicit a response he simply strummed the thimble a couple of time. At the sound of music that wasn't solid screaming Nico perked his head up a bit trying to see where it was coming from, spotting Frankie his eyes widened in surprise but before he could say anything Frankie started to play a few chords on the thimble. At the sound of the tune Veronica started rapping her claws on the truck bed in time with the strums.

Frankie opened his beak and started singing out in a soft bass voice.

"Trailers for sale or rent  
Rooms to let...fifty cents." By this point Nico was starting to recover from his depression and was bobbing his head in time to the beat  
"No phone, no pool, no pets  
I ain't got no cigarettes" Nico slapped his wings against the side of the bowl to augment Veronica's rapping claws.  
"Ah, but..two hours of pushin' broom  
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room  
I'm a man of means by no means" Both Nico and Frankie harmonised their voices and sang out the last line  
"King of the road." Frankie stopped singing and slowed the beat till it stopped altogether. He put the thimble down and looked at Nico before putting his wings on his waist.

"Feeling better now mister doom and gloom" He tried not to chuckle at the new life that had pumped into Nico's features.

"That was awesome!" Nico exclaimed "I had no idea you could sing. And since when do you play anything".

Frankie looked at his feet sheepishly "Well when you hang around you guys for as long as I have you pick things up, as for the singing I find that in my line of work a nice voice can make the difference between someone trusting you or thinking you're a liar."

Nico looked at Frankie curiously realising that even now people could surprise him. "So, you know the rest of the song?" he crossed his wings and watched Frankie expectantly.

Frankie's head perked up "are you kidding! of course i do" With that he picked up exactly where he left off with Nico joining in this time and Veronica lazily rapping her paws once more.

"Third boxcar, midnight train  
Destination..."

They continued singing as the truck rattled on south towards the coast and their destination.

XXX

Several hours later just after mid-day the red truck rumbled to a stop outside a small hotel in the city of New-Orleans. The two birds had been amazed by the city, not because it was a city (after all they came from New York) but because of the utterly different atmosphere and feel that permeated the entire landscape. Compared to New York the skyline was clear and instead a huge amalgamation of shop fronts, bars, houses and apartments stretched out for miles in all directions. Nico whistled appreciatively "Man Frankie we have got to explore this place, it's the birthplace of Jazz for samba's sake!" Nico was almost squirming in excitement. Frankie also looked excited but quickly a shadow fell over his face

"We can't Nico. Remember why we're here." Slowly Nico's features fell as he realised that Frankie was right, he sighed before turning to a slightly more energetic Veronica who was sniffing the air inquisitively. "Thanks for the ride Veronica but this is where we leave". The cat looked down at him,

"Such a shame. It was nice to have someone with a taste in music to listen to." Just as she said it the heavy rock was heard as her owner opened his door and got out heading for the hotel entrance. "If you two ever find yourselves back here I'll be sure to give you a tour" looking around she noticed a pair of rats running into an alley-way and her eyes latched on to them with a predatory gleam that made Nico shudder "it looks like I'm going to have plenty to do in the mean-time" she said before walking back to her bed and lying down for another nap. Frankie nudged Nico and they both took to the air circling upwards untill they found a relatively good vantage point to search from.

Looking around they tried to spot the waterfront which was surprisingly difficult given the seeming presence of water everywhere. Nico glanced over at Frankie with a worried expression. "Searching this place will take weeks! How are we going to find Janet in time?"

"Relax Nico remember they're headed for Rio next all we go to do is find the docks and whichever ship is going to Rio. Besides they seemed in a hurry to get going in New York so maybe they'll already be there." Frankie made sure to sound confident although he had no idea if what he'd said would be right.

"If they're in a hurry then we've got no time to lose" Nico jumped into the air and zipped upwards with Frankie sighing and leaping after him as they continued their search.

XXX

Janet lay on the floor of her cage staring up at the bars that stood between her and freedom. After the first couple of days she had given up trying to get out and now she was beginning to give up hope of escape. There was no air conditioning in the back of the van so she knew they were a long way south, Maria had also told her about the route they usually took so she guessed they were somewhere in Louisiana probably New Orléans itself. _'There's no way Nico could reach me now' _she thought to herself _'and in the city of Jazz too, he'd love it_ here' she sighed before rolling and once again studying the lock on her cage. Whilst she was nowhere near as good at picking locks as Nico she could probably have done it except for one thing, it was facing away from her and she couldn't reach inside the lock no matter how hard she tried. She sighed and at sat up, leaning against one of the bars. She could hear heated discussion going on outside the van and could only presume that Leandro was arguing about their travel arrangements. "Is it always like this?" She asked looking over at Maria who was sitting in her cage.

"Everyone in the smuggling business is always trying to get the most they can. There's always some reason why they think they should get more or give less than last time. This time Leandro has a poor hand to play because he's in such a rush and the ship's captain knows it.". Just then the vans doors opened and they could all hear the captain's voice with its rough french accent.

"Glad to see your reasonable as always Leandro" He chuckled to himself.

"Just get the birds into the cargo hold" Leandro snapped, it was clear he'd gotten a raw deal. The captain gestured to two of the crew who preceded to start lifting cages out of the van and carry them into the small cargo ship nearby. Soon one of the sailors grabbed Janet's cage, looking down he realised he was carrying a canary "Bien peu un, pourquoi ne pas vous chantez pour moi?" He chuckled and shook her cage slightly caused her to cry out and fall over. Suddenly Leandro's arm shot out and clenched the sailors wrist in an iron grip, he pulled the sailor close and whispered to him "now now my French friend, I'd take great care with the merchandise if I was you, if it breaks so do you" With a final growl he shoved the sailor away who quickly muttered terrified apologies before carrying Janet towards the boat very carefully occasionally looking back nervously. When they were on the boat he put her down and kicked her cage before walking away to get more. Pretty soon most of the cages had been delivered and Janet's had been pushed against a porthole allowing her to see outside for the first time in days. She realised that her assumptions had been correct and they were on the waterfront of New Orléans, it was then that her situation truly sank in and she collapsed to the floor sobbing as the final cages put down and the cargo bay doors slammed shut.

XXX

Frankie felt like he had been searching for days, he had followed Nico as they finally found the docks and began to search the dozens of ships that might contain the smugglers but now his wings were burning and he was worried about Nico who was becoming ever more frantic. "Nico slow down man!" He called. Frankie slowed down to catch his breath and as he did he caught a flash of yellow through a porthole on his left, turning 180 he flew up to the window and peered in his eyes widening in surprise. "NICO!" He cried the excitement in his voice causing the canary to freeze and whip around to face him, Frankie's desperate gesturing made him speed over.

"What is it?" he asked, in response Frankie pointed at the porthole. Nico flew up and peered inside when he let out a gasp, there was Janet curled up on the floor clearly in distress. Without warning Nico smacked his wing into the porthole repeatedly.

"Whoa Nico breaking your wings not gonna help her at all" Frankie shouted grabbing his friends wing to stop him.

"I'm not trying to break in, I'm trying to get her attention" He turned back to the porthole and delivered a kick with one of talons that sent a sharp rapping sound through the glass.

XXX

Janet was lying on the floor trying to stem the tears that refused to stop, she was just beginning to calm down when she heard a sharp rapping sound from the porthole. Janet slowly sat up dried her eyes and turned around before gasping in surprise, at first she thought she could see her reflection but she quickly realised it was Nico hovering just outside the glass just a few centimeters away with Frankie right beside him. "Nico!" she cried before throwing herself against the glass in a desperate attempt to get out. She saw Nico flap backwards before gesturing for her to stop. Startled by her cry Maria had bolted up from her place nearer to the front.

"What's going on?" she yawned

"It's Nico and Frankie" Janet said frantically "they're just outside my window".

"What!" Maria shouted bolting upright and now fully alert. When Janet made to throw herself at the window again she shouted. "Wait little one! That's not going to get anything done. Get them to try to get in here through the ship." Janet nodded and turned back to her brother and Frankie who were trying to see who she'd been talking to, quickly she gesticulated desperately trying to get across her message. Eventually Frankie seemed to get the idea and tapped Nico on the shoulder before saying something to him. With a last look through the glass Nico nodded and they darted out of view.

"Well they're on their way." Janet smiled thinking perhaps things had finally gone her way.

XXX

Nico was completely bemused by Janet's gesturing, it seemed like she was telling them to go. He was trying to figure out her message when he felt Frankie tap him on the shoulder. "I think she wants us to find another way in" he said. Looking back at Janet who had stopped waving her wings he nodded with a determined look on his face.

"Let's get her out of there" He quickly zipped up to the ancient ships top deck before settling on a shipping crate and looked around for a door or any way to get in. Looking at the main tower he spotted a window that was slightly open. He turned to Frankie and pointed up to it before jumping up and flying to it taking care to stay out of sight of the couple of sailors working on the deck. Upon reaching the window he realised that there was no way he could fit through the gap, turning around he looked at Frankie and nodded his head towards the gap. Frankie looked at it, looked back at Nico then rolled his eyes before flying over to it and squeezing his way in, which even with his diminutive size was a challenge. Finally Frankie wormed his way inside. "Can you widen the gap?" Nico whispered constantly checking to make sure no one had noticed them yet. Frankie looked at the latch holding the window then turned back to Nico.

"Doesn't look possible. I'd need another me or opposable thumbs and a lot larger wingspan to get it open." Frankie gave a small shrug "Sorry man".

"Look don't worry about me just see if you can get down there and get Janet out. I'll keep watch for you" Nico jumped away and flew over to rest behind some crates where he could see the entire ship tower and keep an eye on most of the ship. Frankie watched him fly away before turning and heading deeper into the ship. Winding his way through scantly lit corridors he tried to make sure he was always heading downwards and soon he found himself outside a locked door. Peering in he let out a gasp of horror, inside the room dozens of cages were stacked against the walls, whilst some were empty and were placed in a separate pile there were far too many full for Frankie's liking, a fact he hoped to change. Looking down he noticed that the door wasn't securely fitted and there was a gap under it (after all why should the door need to be secure against anything but people, the birds were in cages). He jumped down and crawled under and ran into the corner with the empty cages. Looking around he made sure that the coast was clear before flying up onto the top of the stack and searched for Janet. To his dismay she was surrounded by other cages against the far wall.

XXX

Janet was worrying again, it seemed like hours since she saw Nico and Frankie fly off and she was wondering if they'd been able to get in or worse if they'd been caught. She stood up and started pacing to try to take her mind off of the depressing thoughts filling it. "Janet" She heard a voice whisper, her head darted up and she saw Frankie perched on a cage two above her and one in front.

"Frankie" she gasped clapping her hands over her mouth to make sure she didn't scream with joy, she didn't want to wake the other birds who were sleeping as it would inevitably cause enough noise to alert someone. "Where's Nico?"

"Don't worry he's on some crates outside watching the ship for us. How am I supposed to get you out of there?" Frankie asked waving his wings over her cage.

"Perhaps I could help?" Maria's voice drifted over to them. "I am somewhat larger than you and might be able to shift the cages enough for you to get to her."

"Who are you?" Frankie asked distrustful of this stranger, he'd seen plenty of birds in his time and something about her didn't sit well with him.

"Frankie this is Maria, Maria Frankie, she has been kept captive by Bruno for years. Frankie nodded _'no wonder she seems on edge having been in a cage for years.' _Flying over to Maria's cage he studied the lock.

"Hmmm lucky for you this is a pretty simple lock, at least for someone who can actually reach the mechanism such as yours truly" With that he jumped onto the lock and thrust his talon into its inner working where a scratching sound could be heard. "Almost got it" he muttered to himself when a louder click echoed from the opening and the lock sprang open allowing Maria's cage door to swing open. Maria approached the edge of her cage and looked down at the floor in-front of her, tentatively as if in disbelief she placed one of her talons outside then slowly walked out. Looking around her she spread her wings in the sunlight causing her feathers to shimmer faintly before leaping into the air with a whoop of delight, she soared round the room looping through the air before landing back beside Frankie.

"Thank you little sparrow" Exclaimed Maria "It has been so long since I took flight I had forgotten the Joy and clarity it brings" Frankie gave a little bow whilst smiling sheepishly at the adulation. "There is however one problem" Said Maria.

"What's that" Queried Frankie.

"You see how the room's laid out" Frankie nodded, Maria continued in a dispassionate tone "Well these sailors are not very organised and have no lists so instead they stack the cages with occupied one on one side and empty on another". Maria pointed out the two stacks in question "now when a sailor notices the empty cage he'll go to Leandro and Leandro will check his list and notice I'm gone, then he'll send out Bruno who will find me while I am still too weak from captivity to resist him or get far away."

"You could move the cage to the other pile" Frankie suggested

"unfortunately my cage is at the bottom of the stack, even if I could move it it would create enough noise to alert everyone onboard. No I'm afraid there's only one solution."

"What's that?" Frankie asked before suddenly Maria's talon grasped him round the chest and threw him into the cage, before he could recover she shut the door and snapped the lock shut again.

"Maria what are you doing!" Cried Janet no longer concerned with keeping quiet.

"It's such a shame to waste such resourceful birds as you two but unfortunately I quite enjoy my new-found freedom. Oh don't worry I'll let your dear little brother know the sad news that you won't be getting out. At least this time you have a friend to keep you company." Maria Flew up to the bolt holding the door open and released it allowing the door to swing open. She then jumped off and glided out the door and into the corridor with Janet's voice echoing behind her.

"MARIA! Please!" Janet cried in vain as Maria's form faded and the door swung shut again. "Frankie can't you pick the lock again" She asked looking down at the dazed sparrow who wondered over to the lock. He studied it for a second and gave it a tug.

"Sorry Janet, I can't reach the actual mechanism now it's turned away from me, we're stuck" He slumped down and fell unconscious as the adrenaline in his body faded and the shock of Maria's attack kicked in.

"Frankie" Janet called before looking around for something, anything she could do. "Oh no, Nico" She whispered before tears once again began slipping down the feathers on her cheek and she collapsed in a fit of sobs.

XXX

"Come on guys, where are you" Nico whispered. Frankie had been gone for too long and now he was worrying, he wanted to do something but he didn't dare leave in case they did come out and he missed them. "What's taking them so long". Gazing out at the ship's tower he was smashed against one of the crates when a sudden force impacted him from behind, struggling to get up he felt talons wrap around his legs and lift him skyward. He turned around and gasped, at first he thought Bruno had got him but he quickly realised it was a Rook not a magpie who was carrying him away from the boat and towards a market near the shore that was mostly empty due to the lateness of the day.

"Get off me, what are you doing?"

"Sorry little canary but I can't let you try to rescue you sister and alert Bruno to my departure." The Rook turned towards the city and lifted him higher.

"What have you done with Janet!" Nico yelled thrashing his wings in a desperate attempt to free himself.

"I've done nothing to her however your little sparrow friend has unfortunately found himself locked up" She chuckled "Here we go" she said before throwing Nico onto the ground head first and slamming a box on top of him. Nico heard her putting weights on top as he struggled to get out. "Don't worry you're not going to die" he heard the Rooks mumbled voice say through the wooden box "I'm sure someone will let you out, eventually" Looking through a small hole in the side of the box he saw her spread her wings before grabbing an apple and flying off.

"Wait!" Nico slammed himself against the box again and again as the Rooks form disappeared into the distance. Looking out at the water he saw the ship with Janet and Frankie on start to leave port. "NO!" he shouted pounding his fist against the unyielding planks of wood "please.." he whispered before falling to his knees as he watched the ship sail away into the darkness of approaching night.

**Wow- that chapter was long, it was only supposed to get to about 2000 words but instead it got to 4,200 instead! I just couldn't stop writing. So Maria is evil mwahahaha! Twas my plan all along even though it took me a while to decide how to reveal her inner cruelty. Now Nico is trapped under a box with Frankie and Janet in cages headed for Brazil! How's it going to turn out? You'll have to wait and see :-) Sorry at how long it took for me to finish this but I hope it is alright. Please leave a review or PM me about any questions you might have. This will be the last chapter before Rio! :D**

**Strykeruk out.**


	7. Welcome to Paradise

**Authors note: Hey guys sorry about the long delay but I've been under pressure and If i'm entirely honest I just haven't been in the mood for writing. However My new year resolution was to finish this chapter and here you go. This chapter is purely from Nico's POV but don't worry there are some new characters to meet :-) Next chapter will cover some more from Janet and Frankie as they arrive at there destination. And now dear readers my next chapter.**

The lithe figure wound around the alley corner body low and eyes narrowed as they scanned for any movement. The cat cautiously crept out into the open square peering through the twilight gloom for any cover that could hide it or its chosen prey. Eyes narrowed as they gazed through the morning mist it spotted a potential candidate, a large box with several smaller ones stacked on top that was just at the edge of the market and would give a perfect view of the area. The feline bounded with long sinuous movements before huddling behind the crate, face peering round the corner. With the mist and low-light it was relying on its ears to pick up any faint sense of sound to detect any signs of life in the abandoned market.

The cat's ears pricked as it heard a faint scratching sound that it couldn't pinpoint untill with a start it realised the sound was coming from inside the crate. It quickly backed off and stared at the crate for a couple of seconds before tensing its back legs and fixing its eyes upon the crate. In one surge of energy it hurled itself at the box flipping it onto its side, throwing the weights off and spilling the boxes contents onto the stone slabs. The cats eyes darted to its prize and its paws quickly pinned the dazed bird to the floor.

"Well, well this is a treat" purred the cat extending one claw to press under the small yellow canaries chin. Nico's eyes darted around wide open as he desperately sought a way to escape when suddenly a blur of brown fur slammed into the cat. The two felines writhed in a vicious, hissing mêlée while Nico scrambled backwards and hid behind the knocked over crate. The frantic fight lasted only a few seconds before one of the felines sprang away and shot off into the gloom. Nico looked on with trepidation _"have I just been rescued or bumped up to a bigger predator?" _He pondered. He held his breath and tensed his still sore wings as he watched the cat collect itself and turn around.

"Well" gasped the cat "Is that any way to greet your rescuer?"

"Veronica?" Nico looked at the cat and realised it was the same brown-striped tabby cat he had just spent days travelling with.

"Indeed little bird" Veronica said sarcastically "Now do you mind telling me why you're still in New Orléans and why I just had to make an enemy to get you from out of his claws?" Whilst talking Veronica had padded closer and now sat in front of Nico staring down at him. With a start Nico realised just how long he had been under the crate.

"There's no time" He shouted "I've got to get after them!" He turned and prepared to leap away when veronica's paw bopped him on the head with just enough force to knock him over.

"You are not going anywhere till I know what happened!" Veronica glared at him "I am a very curious cat. And besides" she poked a claw at him "You look like you need a bath and some down-time". Nico looked down at himself, he was covered in dirt which had turned his feathers a light brown instead of their usual bright yellow. He had to admit he also felt drained and depleted.

"Fine" He muttered "But only for an hour or so."

"Very well" Veronica sauntered over to the large fountain in the middle of the square. "You clean yourself and I'll get you something to eat. And whilst you're at it you tell me everything that happened."

XXX

When Nico had bathed he told Veronica the story since they had left her. About the boat, Frankie and finally the Rook who had trapped him. When he finally finished and looked his normal colourful self he looked down from the fountain and saw Veronica staring intently at him with a small pile of fruit waiting next to her. Whilst most of the food was leftovers Nico had been trapped in a crate for hours and hadn't exactly eaten like a king for the last few days either and so upon seeing the veritable feast he had a momentary lapse in common courtesy and flew straight at the food with a gusto that surprised even himself.

What followed was five minutes of silence broken only by the contented sigh signifying his sated appetite.

Veronica looked at him with amusement in her eyes. "How long did you say you were in that crate?" She asked incredulously trying not to laugh at the small bird who was covered in fruit juices and was almost in a worse state than before his bath. Nico looked down sheepishly and pushed aside a piece of mango that was lying hollowed out next to his claw.

"No matter, in you get, again" Veronica put extra emphasis on the again and gestured to the fountain which Nico lethargicaly flapped up to and dropped into with a small plop.

"Now about your predicament. I think I have a plan B for you".

Nico looked over the edge of the fountain "You found another ship?" He looked at her with surprise.

"Of course I have, and better, this one has class. Follow me." Without further warning she turned and started walking away forcing Nico to hurriedly zip into the air and catch up with her.

"How on earth did you get so clued in to what's going on. You've barely been here a day." Nico asked fluttering along by Veronica's head.

"When you hunt rats the first thing you do is visit the docks and find out everything about the ships. Old ships are crawling with rats but new and expensive ones have few if any, it's very useful to know which ones to watch. Speaking of which there is your ride to Rio." she lifted a paw and gestured to a ship near the end of the harbour.

Nico whistled appreciatively. What Veronica was pointing at was a massive cruise liner, clearly a luxury ship. It was gleaming white and looked brand new with deck chairs across its surface and a pool on the front. The sun peeped up from behind its bridge and painted it's silhouette against the sky.

"Now that is a luxury boat. High five!" Nico turned and slapped Veronicas still raised paw. "Thank you so much!" He gave her a short hug on the neck before jumping back. "If I'm ever back I'll give you a visit." He leapt into the air and sped off towards the boat.

"Be sure you do little bird. And good luck!" Veronica called as Nico's form shrank away towards the ship. She felt a little sad to see him go and worried as he was such a small and fragile thing. However she also knew that with a spirit like his he could do anything. She glanced at the boat one last time before turning and heading back to the market to find a long overdue meal.

XXX

Nico landed on top of one of the ships railings and looked around for a place to hide. Whilst there were plenty of spaces he knew that soon the deck would be swarming with passengers and he had to find a permanent fixture to hide behind. Soon he spotted a large generator which kept the pool lights on and was humming gently. Flying over to it he realised there was plenty of room for him to fit behind, it was also sheltered with the wall behind him and the generator was warming the space so he wouldn't have to worry about getting cold. Pausing for thought he decided to get a few supplies and some bedding as he had no idea how long the trip would be.

20 minutes later Nico had a small collection of seeds and fruit as well as a bottle of water he'd dragged behind the generator, he'd also piled some odds and ends from around the deck at either side of his hide away so as to prevent someone noticing it, at least that's what he hoped. There was also one little treasure he'd found in an unlocked cabin, a small book on English to Brazilian phrases something Nico knew would be invaluable if he wanted to be able to get help finding Janet in Rio. Nico like most birds had realised early on that reading was a very useful asset in staying alive and well fed.

Luckily for Nico he'd always had a knack for languages as he'd learned that being small meant he should avoid fights. If he was going to avoid fights in a city like New York then knowing the other guys language was usually a good way to defuse some of the tension. Thanks to his efforts; whilst he wasn't fluent in any other language he knew enough French and Spanish to enjoy a simple conversation. _"How much harder can Brazilian be?" _He reasoned as he sat down and turned the first page.

Half-an hour later and with a throbbing headache Nico had his answer. He'd assumed that it would be easy because of its similarities to Spanish and French, the opposite was true. While it shared many similarities it was the minor differences that kept catching him out. Deciding to take a break he poked his head out over the generator and looked at the deck that was now full of activity. With a start he realised he'd been so focused on the book that he hadn't noticed them set out and that they were now several miles out to sea already with the American mainland dwindling behind. Flying up to the top of the ship he looked back at the only world he'd ever known before sighing and turning around with determination shining in his eyes he stared south towards the horizon. "I coming Janet. I promise" He muttered before flying back down to his hiding place.

XXX

The next few days were despite the drastic changes in location rather boring and uneventful for Nico. When they did stop at islands on the way he only spent the minimum time necessary to clear his hiding place and collect supplies whilst everyone was ashore. While tempting as it was to explore, knowing his track record in regards to staying out of trouble he decided to stay as close to the ship as possible. Whilst this definitely kept him out trouble and left him with plenty of time to keep studying Brazilian over the days that followed it also meant he didn't notice the small trio of birds who in a manner similar to him were hitching a ride on the cruise ship.

It was on the seventh day that Nico finally started to go a little stir crazy. "Estou tão entediado!" He cried taking the opportunity to stretch his attempts at the new language. The sun was shining directly above the ship making any attempts to simply rest futile. Nico was lying face down in a small pile of newspaper cuttings when he heard a strange tinging sound coming from somewhere outside. Alone this wouldn't have been special as the ship made plenty of strange noises, instead it was the rhythm of the sound that made him notice. It wasn't just random noise it was a deliberate beat with tune and tempo which Nico had to admit sounded pretty good. Sitting up and listening carefully he could also make out someone singing. Just as he was homing in on the voice it cut off and was replaced by a deeper voice also singing but in a different language which confounded Nico untill, with a start he realised it was Brazilian!

Nico flew up to the top of the generator so he could better hear the singers. The song was still in Brazilian but was being sung to fast for him to catch most of the words. He could however recognise the word Samba. Turning around and looking up he saw the singers standing on the top of the bridge. The first was coloured bright red with black wings and a black tail that was his height and was the one singing at the moment.

"Tudo e samba, e o samba vem sambar meu bem  
Para ter um amor e um pouquinho de Rio" It was this mention of the city that caught Nico's full attention as he wondered if they would help him.

"Onde a paixoo e o riso de alguem  
Vou te dar calor e um carinho de ritmo  
Todo meu amor por natureza vem, vem"

Even without knowing exactly what he was saying Nico knew he was a good singer and that he was clearly enjoying himself. His attention soon darted to the bird standing to left of the singer who immediately started singing and carrying on with the song. She was coloured light green verging on grey on her chest with black tail feathers and wing tips. She was also more lively than her counterpart and was dancing to herself, Nico instantly recognised the style as a form of samba.

"Let me take you to Rio, Rio  
Fly on the ocean like an eagle, eagle  
Then we can chill in my gazeebo, gazeebo  
Oh, oh, oh, oh - nah, nah, nah"

Whilst she started to sing this chorus again Nico flew up to the bridge and landed a few feet away from them making them jump and the male singer turned and looked at him with wide eyes but despite this they carried on regardless. It was then that Nico noticed what was making the tinging sound which formed the tune. There was a bird standing behind the two singers, he had a light brown body with a patch of red on top of his head, his wings and tail feathers were a mix of black and white. The bizzare sound was coming from his wings which he was continually hitting together. Nico could see that they were vibrating and it was from this that the sound was being produced.

"è tanta beleza a se perder de vista  
Cidade floresta, meu cantinho quintal  
Faz graus para esquentar a vida  
Faz uma batida pra ficar legal  
? Todo dia È dia de beijar o sol  
Samba na batida projetos e rimas  
NÖo tem fantasia tudo È carnaval"

When he'd finished and the final chorus had begun the Brazilian singer turned and walked towards Nico and looked at him questioningly while crossing his wings.

"você foi muito bom." Nico said trying to sound friendly and praying he said the right thing. The singer quickly launched into a full blown series of sentences in Brazilian which overwhelmed Nico's rudimentary grasp of it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down" Nico said desperately, holding up his wings.

"You're an American?" Looking around he realised the song had finished and the female singer had walked over and was the one talking to him.

"Yup and I'm sorry to disturb you but have a rather enchanting singing voice" Nico said with a slightly flirtatious tone entering his voice as he noticed she was actually quite pretty.

"Easy Tiger, I'm taken by Alfonso here" She pointed at the other singer who was scowling at Nico "I'm Flora and that guy" she said pointing at the third member of their group "is Clubs" she held up her wing before Nico could speak "don't ask about the name, he was a pet for most of his life and he can't remember his real name hence he's not exactly social." Turning back and leaning against an antenna on the roof she asked "So you headed to Rio for Carnival? We're headed back from a few months of traveling, that was us practicing for a club we go to there".

"What's Carnival? Is it some kind of party?" Nico had no idea what they were talking about.

"Carnival is not just some party" blurted out Alfonso "It is the biggest celebration in the world! How have you not heard of it!"

"Hey, Hey Alfonso calm down" Flora whispered soothingly whilst rubbing his shoulder "Why don't you go check on clubs?"

Alfonso stalked off and Nico heard him muttering "bloody tourists".

"So if you're not here for Carnival what are you here for?" Flora asked looking back at Nico.

"I'm.." Nico hesitated not sure if he should tell these new birds everything "I'm visiting a relative" he said. "Do you have any idea how much longer till we reach Rio I think I'm going crazy on this ship!" Flora giggled at his expression as he dragged his wings over his face.

"Maybe you should turn around?" She chuckled before grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around. As Nico re-orientated himself the ship passed around a small mountain and suddenly a city appeared on the beach in front of them. Flora put her beak next to Nico's head and whispered "welcome to paradise meu amigo" Before backing of and leaving him standing there mouth agape.

Nico was overwhelmed. On his left was sugar-loaf mountain and straight ahead of him and on a hill in the horizon was the Christ the Redeemer statue. Looking right he could see glistening white beaches and in the distance was the rainforest which seemed to weave in and out of the city. Nico had thought his life in New york would have prepared him for Rio but he was wrong, in the place of skyscrapers and clouds there where mountains and hills with a clear blue sky. And out there somewhere were Janet and Frankie.

"Hey Canary!" He heard Flora call out to him "Catch" He turned and saw her throw something metallic at him. Jumping up he caught it in his wings and looked down. He saw it was a small bottle cap with blue stripes on top. He looked up in confusion at Flora. "Bird like you always needs some way to make a beat for himself. Besides it'll look good on you."

Nico decided he had nothing to lose so spun the bottle cap on the end of his wing before dropping it onto his head where it seemed to be a perfect fit. Looking at his reflection in a small pool of water on the roof he had to admit it looked cool.

"Hey thanks Flora, you have a pretty good taste in style. Unfortunately I better go now I've got a lot of ground to cover." As he jumped up into the sky He heard Flora calling after him.

"You're welcome and if you need help ask around for a guy called Rafael, he'll help you out. Just say Flora and the Rio Trio sent you."

"boa sorte" He heard Alfonso call out.

"Obrigado!" He called back before flying off to find his sister and best friend somewhere in Rio de Janeiro.

**Authors note- 'phew' that was getting long by the end. I now realise that I started this chapter in 2012 and finished in 2013 missing a doomsday in the process. I didn't say in the chapter but Flora is a Palm Tanager, Alfonso is a Brazilian Tanager and Clubs is a club-winged Manakin, try looking the manakin up on youtube it sounds quite cool in my opinion. To all my reviewers I would like to say thank you and also to any other viewers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any questions or notice any mistakes then feel free to put them in a review or PM me.**

**Strykeruk out.**


	8. Attack!

**Authors note- Hello all my loyal readers and greetings to any new ones. This is my latest chapter and I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. This chapter is going to have both Janets and Nico's points of view. We're going to meet some characters is this one, both OC and Movie. Enough of my idle blather and on to the chapter.**

Janet sat at the back of her cage her head nestled in her wings as she tried not to give in to despair. It had been a couple of days since Maria had escaped and imprisoned Frankie in her place. In the period following that Frankie had woken fitfully and only twice had he gained enough strength to drink from the small bowls every cage had. Fortunately from what she could tell nothing appeared broken or permanently damaged and it was simply time that was needed untill he recovered. Lifting her head she went to wipe her eyes but found them dry, "_I must have used my tears up"_ she thought. Looking up at Frankie she saw he was out cold sleeping. Sighing she got up and hopped over to the porthole against her cage. Other than trying to figure out how to escape her only way of staving off boredom was staring out the window especially since the sailors had offloaded most of the more talkative birds. Janet knew it was only a matter of time till Bruno figured out what had happened and she didn't want Frankie in Maria's cage when that finally came to pass. Unfortunately she could think of nothing that could help and she was running out of time.

Reaching the glass she saw that it had misted over meaning she had to reach through her cage bars and use her wing tips to slowly brush away the condensation. With every stroke of her feathers her eyes widened in surprise as a the scene beyond the boat was revealed, the ship was pulling into a narrow inlet with a small beach. However it was the jungle beyond that captured Janet's attention, whilst living in New York she had seen some pretty tall trees but her knowledge of nature largely extended to the few parks she and Nico frequented. The vast canopy of green and brown that stared down at her made her realise just how little she actually knew.

"By the love of samba" she gasped before frowning when she realised she had used one of Nico's catchphrases. Her mind was snapped back to the present by the sight of flashes of colour in the jungle as birds of a vast array of shapes and sizes darted between the tree-tops. She had never seen so many types of birds even with the variety that had been present in the cargo hold. She desperately wanted to get out and explore but this only served to fuel her depression at her imprisonment.

"Dreaming of freedom are we my dear?" She heard a low and familiar voice murmur. With a cry of shock she whirled around to find Bruno standing on top of her cage grinning at her. "It is a rather enchanting sight isn't it?" Bruno chuckled "My advice to you, forget about any thoughts of freedom, the sooner you do the sooner you can learn to cope. I'm sure there's a certain bird in here who could tell you all about that, isn't that right Maria!" Bruno called to the room behind him. When he didn't get a reply he frowned. Janet guessed that he didn't usually get ignored, She also realised she had about 5 seconds to get out of range of Bruno before he realised Maria was gone. Bruno's eyes had fixated on Maria's now otherwise occupied cage and darting about frantically when they locked onto the prone form of Frankie lying on the floor. Janet saw his eyes fix with a death glare and her heart cut out for a second at the fury in his expression. As Bruno flung himself off her cage and plummeted towards Frankie Janet only had to time cry out Frankie name as warning before Bruno wheeled around the room and slammed into Frankies cage making the entire stack shudder. He threw off the lock and hauled open the door as his taloned right claw locked itself around Frankies throat despite his last second attempt to jump backwards.

Bruno held Frankie up to his face. "I will give you one chance, and one chance only to tell me where she is and I might let you live." Bruno growled the words out and the menace in them made it plain that he would carry out his threat. Frankie scrabbled desperately at the claw wrapped around his throat and made choking sounds. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" Bruno's eyes glinted with a hint of madness and a rage that made Frankie freeze despite the slow deprivation of oxygen to his mind.

"Bruno stop it!" screamed Janet "Maria's gone!". At those words Bruno's eyes locked onto Janet and he loosened his grip on Frankie's neck allowing him to gulp down precious air.

"Please, go on." Bruno said narrowing his eyes.

"She escaped in New Orléans, she picked the lock and threw Frankie in there to stop the sailors getting suspicious. Please just put him down" Janet was in tears again as she realised that Frankie's life depended on the mercy of the monster in front of her. Bruno's' eyes had glazed over as he digested the information. He let out a cry of anger and threw Frankie against the opposite side of the cage.

"Idiotic Sailors!" he cried before leaping into the air and soaring out of the room slamming the cage door shut.

"Frankie!" called Janet worried at him receiving another concussion.

"People have got to stop throwing me around" She heard him mutter before he got up and walked towards his cage door. "It makes them stop paying attention" He pushed against the door and it gave slightly before jamming due to the now distorted bars. Frankie looked up at the bars in annoyance. "This could take a while" he mused before turning to Janet "But at least now I have something to do." He looked back at the bars before jumping up and latching onto his cage roof and started prying at the bars.

Janet watched him work, realising that however small they now had some hope of escape.

XXX

Nico flew over the city his mouth agape at the vast array of colours that played out beneath him. He looked around for a place to get his bearings and focus, spotting a corrugated iron roof that covered a small shelter. Landing on it he peeked over the edge and saw it was inhabited by a small boy with unkempt hair who wore a yellow football shirt several sizes too large that was almost as bright as Nico's feathers. The boy was clearly under-fed and was sitting on a bucket clearly lost in his own thoughts. Nico sighed as he realised that even in a city as beautiful as Rio there was still suffering and sadness. Looking back up he realised he had no idea how to find this Rafael that Flora had told him to talk to. Glancing around to try to gather any information he saw a pair of brightly coloured blue-and-yellow macaws arguing with each other and decided to ask them for directions. Flapping into the air he didn't see the small boy staring at him and wishing that he too could fly away.

Nico floated down towards the pair of bickering parrots and caught snippets of their conversation which to Nico's relief was in English.

"I told you not to drink that" The first macaw was berating the other with a stern tone of voice.

"Not my fault 'hic' that it had 'hic' alcohol in" The second macaw was clearly intoxicated and Nico could see he was struggling to stay on his feet whilst constantly drinking water from a small cup.

"Excuse me" called Nico, hovering above the pair.

"What do you want?" asked Macaw 1.

"I was just wondering if either of you could tell me how to find Rafael." Nico was sceptical that they could help but still hoped for some info.

"Wadya wanner sey hmm fur?" the second macaw slurred.

"Quiet Victor, I'll talk, you focus on sobering up." Macaw number one snapped in an irritated tone.

"But Felipe.." Whined Victor, despite going quiet and returning to drinking the water.

"Sorry about him" said Felipe "But he does have a point, you're clearly new here and I'm curious, so why do you want to see Rafael and how did you hear about him?"

Whilst the macaws seemed honest Nico didn't want to advertise himself just yet so decided on a half-truth. "I'm here to visit my sister and I was hoping Rafael would know where she is. Flora told me to say the Rio Trio sent me. She also gave me this." he flipped his cap off his head and spun it between his wings before putting it back on.

"Flora's back? Sweet, we've been waiting for ages. We" he motioned to himself and his brother "work at the paradise club, he manages the bar and I work the lights and backstage stuff."

"Paradise club?" Nico perked up a bit he'd known a few clubs in New York but they tended to be rather lack-lustre.

"Yeah you should ask Ralfy to take you. On that note I'll tell you how to find him. Word of advice watch out for his kids" He leaned in and whispered "they smell fear." returning to his normal voice he said "Anyway just fly up to the Christ the redeemer statue, from the direction it's facing turn 180 and head straight ahead. His hollow is in a small clearing with a boulder in it.".

"Thanks man, I'll be sure to check the club out." Nico was glad that he finally had something to go on.

"One more thing, it's an open stage club. You got any talent? We're always looking for more acts" Felipe sounded rather hopeful.

"You'll just have to wait and see" Nico grinned before jumping up and heading for the Christ the Redeemer statue.

"boa sorte meu pequeno amigo!" Called Felipe before turning back to his now passed out brother "pelo amor de deus" he muttered before Nico got out of earshot.

Nico chuckled whilst focusing on the growing figure of the christ the Redeemer statue. Sometime Nico was impressed by what the Humans would do on a whim although when he reached the statue he thought he saw why they were so keen on this spot. Landing on the statues head he looked out over the cit of Rio and was once again duly stunned by the panorama in front of him. Spread out before him was the entire city, from this point he could see every Favela, every stadium and all the beaches spread out along the sapphire sea with the sun glinting off the water. All of this was ringed by the vibrant greens of the jungle with flashes of colour from birds and people alike interspersing it.

Nico wasn't sure how long he stood there gaping at the splendour arrayed in front of him before he snapped back to his senses and reluctantly followed Felipes instructions by turning 180 and flew straight ahead out over the canopy. He had no idea who Rafael was or what he looked like and only hoped that he could find the right clearing and get help. Nico flew straight for about 5 minutes keeping his head fixed on the ground. Finally he spotted a small clearing with a large boulder in it. Fluttering down he alighted on top of the rock and looked around him seeing no one in sight.

'Hello!' Nico called. He had no idea what Rafael looked like but hopefully he would be able to find him if this was his home. Glancing around he couldn't see anything that would look like a home amongst all the trees and bushes. Beginning to worry that he was in the wrong place Nico turned to leave and nearly jumped out of his feathers when he saw a bird staring at him.

"Gah!" he cried, falling off the boulder and landing on the ground. Staring at the top of the boulder he saw the small bird peep over the edge at him. Nico quickly realised the bird was in fact a small chick and by the very distinctive large orange beak he noted it was a toco toucan. It's small eyes peeked over the rock at him and Nico berated himself for probably scaring the poor guy half to death.

Standing up Nico waved to the chick. "Hi there, do you know where I can find Rafael?". At the mention of the name the chicks eyes widened even further and it disappeared behind the boulder. "Wait" Nico called, flying up to the boulder and trying to spot the chick who had seemingly disappeared. Nico was scratching his head in confusion when he heard a cry from below him.

"Attack!". Suddenly four toucan chicks leapt at him from different angles and tackled him off the boulder. Nico found himself pinned beneath four balls of feathers who were almost bigger than him. A chick sat on each limb and he couldn't move. Looking around nervously he saw a fifth chick (the one from earlier) standing above him on the boulder, it was stretching and tensing itself up to jump.

"Oh no, no no no no no... wait, no don't do it, please don't argghh!" Nico screamed out just as the chick jumped into the air and came thudding down on Nico's chest driving the wind from his lungs. Nico tried to draw breath but the chick sitting on his chest wasn't budging and Nico's face began to turn blue as he squirmed to free himself. Just as his vision began to grey he heard a voice calling out and a figure ran up and shoed the chicks off him before Nico finally passed out.

XXX

Leandro sat in his office on the ship, they had just move close to the shore to start offloading the birds and he was gazing out his porthole at the progress. Bruno sat on his desk preening himself which he only did when he was anxious about something. Leandro however was occupied with a phone call.

"Yes, yes I know you need some more birds but I can't speed things up. I already bugged out of America faster than I'd have liked. I know that but..." Leandro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't worry you'll have the birds soon, just have my money waiting. So long." Leandro hung up and let out a breath of relief. He was in debt and the birds he could see out the porthole were his last chance to balance the books. He just prayed nothing went wrong.

**Authors note- mwahahaha. You know I was going to continue Nico's POV but I thought I'd leave a nice little cliffhanger for you, I know the intro said we'd meet movie characters and technically I didn't lie, the chicks count lol. I hope you all didn't mind the wait for the chapter. As ever leave a review or PM me with any questions and I might answer ;-) Next chapter we start meeting movie characters for real! Little nervous, hope i get it right. Wish me luck.**

**Strykeruk out.**


	9. Guilt and recovery

**Authors note- Hi everyone it's me again with another chapter :-) Hopefully I can really get the party started now. Sorry if it took a while but I've had a tough time at school and difficulty with writer's block. Any who I'm back now and I hope you enjoy my latest addition. **

**Also a shout out to all my reviewers and to Jixstun and Winterbyrd who have given the most constructive reviews thus far and along with ILOVENICO1000X and EmmerzK whose stories have helped inspire and encourage me. If you haven't read their stories I would recommend you do as soon as possible.**

Leandro marched through the rows of cages containing a veritable fortune of exotic birds and allowed a ghost of a smile to creep its way across his face as he mentally calculated the total value.

"More than enough" he muttered to himself. Maybe after this haul he'd finally get that damn African of his back and return to the States a much richer man. That'd let him sort out his rivals in the business and get his own back on those who looked down on him. His reminiscing was interrupted by a familiar screech and he instinctively raised his right arm allowing Bruno a larger platform to land on before moving up to perch on his shoulder.

"looks like we got a pretty good catch hey Bruno" he said tugging at a couple of loose feathers on Bruno's neck causing him to ruffle up and glare at a couple of birds who were staring at him. Leandro nodded with satisfaction as the cowered back into their cages. "I'd trust you to guard this lot over those stupid Frenchmen any day". Bruno seemed to swell up a little and Leandro again wondered just how much his feathered friend understood and whether he truly did get a sense of pride at his compliments. Dismissing these thoughts he noticed a bird seemingly unafraid of Bruno and recognised it as the canary he'd found.

"looks like you found a bird with guts." He said lowering his face to the level of the bird. "Good, it makes them sing all the harder" this time the canary did back up as he grinned viciously before he straightened and headed in the direction of the ship's captain to get his birds loaded into the large van he'd been supplied with and thus end their business together.

XXX

_"Nico" Nico stirred and he's eyes slowly cracked open. "Nico" again he heard the voice say his name. He sat up and looked around trying to find its location. "Nico where are you?" he heard sobbing coming from his right and he saw a cage with someone sitting in it. Walking closer he nervously called out._

_"Hello?". Getting no response he edged closer. As he approached, the sobbing figure lifted its head and gazed towards him. With a start he realised it was Janet. "Janet!" he called running up to the bars. She didn't seem to see him and gazed in fear at something behind him. "Janet it's me" Nico pleaded, desperate to get her to acknowledge him. As he was doing so he noticed an unfortunately familiar figure stalking around the cage with Janet's eyes following him fearfully._

_"You know he's not coming for you" He heard the voice whisper "no one is. You're all alone in the dark." Bruno's voice echoed in the room as he taunted Janet. _

_"NO Janet I'm coming for you! trust me." Despite knowing she couldn't hear Nico was horrified by the look of abject terror on his sisters face._

_"Nico isn't coming for you Janet." Bruno's voice seemed disembodied and Nico spun around trying to find him "BUT I AM COMING FOR HIM!" At the last second he saw Bruno lunge at him, his face full of rage before the entire room went black._

XXX

Nico's eyes burst open before quickly squinting against the light. He could hear hushed voices not far from him.

"I have to help him my sweet. The kids say he was looking for me. I owe him after they nearly crushed him to death!" The bird sounded distressed and also exhausted.

"Fine" a voice snapped in return "but as soon as he's done he leaves, I'm not having any strangers near our chicks". Nico decided to pretend to be sleeping as he heard the second bird stalk past him and walk off.

"You can stop pretending mi amigo" He heard the first bird say. Nico opened his eyes and looked over. Standing next to him was a toco toucan with his arms crossed over his chest. "You got me in a lot of trouble with my wife and I want to know why you're looking for me". Nico took a deep breath to explain but winced at a pain in his chest. "whoa whoa, take it slow! You pulled something in there and I might want answers but not if it hurts.".

Nico nodded and taking a much smaller breath asked "Are you Rafael?" Nico was pretty sure he was since he'd overheard the earlier conversation but he figured there was no harm in asking.

"That I am. Rafael also known as the King of Carnival or just Ralfi to my friends. And you are?" Rafael gestured to Nico and helped him stand up.

"I'm Nico, no second name no titles." Nico held out his wing which Rafael shook.

"Well Nico, now that the pleasantries are done why are you here? Are you here for Carnival?". Nico shook his head gently.

"What's carnival?" Rafael looked thoughtful for a second before switching to English.

"Judging by your accent and your lack of knowledge about the greatest party on earth you must be from the states. This better?" Rafael's voice had a slight gravely tone to it but sounded perfectly fine.

"Yeah, I'm still a little new to the Brazilian language". Nico thought he was doing alright but also knew he was far from fluent. "So what's carnival?"

"Like I said, it's the greatest party in the world. Birds from everywhere come here to have fun. But why are you here if not for carnival? Most birds want to see me for advice, although numbers have decreased since my chicks came along." Rafael Chuckled as he noticed Nico inwardly wince.

Nico noticed Rafael was still looking at him and remembered he hadn't the original question.

"I'm erm... well I'm looking for my sister Janet" Nico was trying to give enough for Rafael to help but not give everything away at the same time. He also didn't want to get him involved in anything dangerous, especially if it got him in trouble with his mate. Again.

"Well mi amigo I'm going to need a bit more than that to help. And you're sure she's in Rio but you don't know where?" Rafael was looking confused and was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I was told she was headed to Rio but we got split up back in New York and..." Nico was cut off by Rafael.

"New York?!" He sounded surprised "How'd you get from there to here, and how'd you manage to get split up?" Nico realised that his attempts to explain were only making matters worse. Taking a deep breath he decided to start from the beginning.

"It all started about a week ago..." Before he knew it he was re-telling his entire story, about Janet, Bruno, Frankie, the Rook and finally Flora and the Rio trio.

"... and know I just don't know what to do, I mean Rio is so big, they could be anywhere. And now you say that Rio is going to be full of strangers. Even if I do find them, what then? I'm not a good fighter. It's just all too much..." Finally Nico sat down exhausted and stared at the floor vacantly. Rafael's eyes were wide open and incredulous.

"Wow" He finally said after a long silence "I've heard of birds being smuggled out of Rio but never to Rio. That's a first." Seeing Nico still sitting and staring despondently at the floor he walked up and put one of his wings around Nico. "Hey come on Nico, perk up. Tell you what, I'll help."

"What? How?" Nico felt a small kernel of hope in his chest.

"Well lucky for you, you know Rafael and Rafael knows everybody" As he spoke who flung his wings out with a flourish that sparked déjà vu in Nico's mind.

"Sweet" Nico said cheerfully "Let's go" He jumped to his feet only for the muscles in his chest to scream in protest making him fall over with a gasp.

"Whoa whoa mi amigo. I'll pass the word around the jungle to look out for anything or anyone odd or new. You stay here and rest. You only pulled something so you should be fine by tomorrow, If" at this he pointed at Nico's face making him go cross-eyed "you relax."

"But.." Nico tried to protest

"No buts. Not if you want to help anytime this week".

"Fine. But what about your mate and chicks?" Nico was still worried that he would get attacked as soon as Rafael was gone. He could see the toucan chicks playing at the opposite side of the hollow and swallowed nervously.

"Don't worry about the chicks, Eva will keep them under control, they're scared to death of her." Just as he finished talking Nico saw that Eva had re-appeared and was standing behind Rafael.

"Scared of who!?" she snapped making Rafael jump in surprise and nearly scream. The humour would have made Nico laugh but he didn't want to hurt his muscles again.

"Ah Eva my love, I was just saying how good you are with the chicks." He walked behind Nico. "Nico here needs to rest for a day whilst I go to find his sister".

"Humph. I don't believe it, you just want to go party in the city." Eva stood back straight and glared at Rafael as if daring him to protest. Seeing the death glare Nico decided to intervene.

"Please Miss Eva I promise I will be absolutely silent. I really need your help". He put on his best sad face that always used to get him out of trouble with Janet. He widened his eyes and pouted his lip ever so slightly. He added to the expression by taking of his bottle cap and holding it in front of his chest. He hoped he made himself look cute and helpless. He saw Eva's eyes mellow ever so slightly.

"Fine you can stay. But only for a day. And I better not find out that you" she pointed straight at Rafael's chest "Have been partying instead of searching". Rafael crossed his heart at which Eva turned and started walking towards the chicks "Marco leave your sister alone!".

Nico heard Rafael release a breath. " well done Mi amigo, It takes something impressive to change Eva's mind."

"You managed earlier" chirped Nico cheekily.

"Of course. That's because I'm impressive." Rafael grinned. "You stay here and try to relax, I'll head out and start spreading the word to watch out for your sister and friend."

"Good luck" Nico said.

"Ate logo" Rafael called back, jumping from the hollow and flying out of sight. When he was gone Nico tried to drift of to sleep but found himself haunted by his earlier dream and so contented himself by staring out at the sky and listening to the chicks play as the day languidly passed him by.

XXX

It had been nearly a day since Bruno had stormed out of the cargo hold. When they had been carried out to the beach Frankie had been able to grab a small stone and was using it to hammer away at the cage door slowly. Since starting he had managed to open it by about half a centimetre with only one more to go. Janet knew that it wouldn't take as long to move the extra distance as it became easier for Frankie the less the door was stuck in the cage's frame. Frankie was taking a small break and drinking from the oversized bowl in his cage that had previously been meant for Maria. Janet sat on the wooden floor of her cage idling the time away by listening to the sounds from outside the covered jeep they were in. It was hard to hear anything as Leandro had turned load music on to cover any sounds the birds might make. This also however masked the sound of Frankie's attempts at getting out.

Janet was desperate for someone to talk to but knew no one would hear her. The isolation forced her to reflect on the events of the past few days and realise how stupid she had been to trust Bruno, now her stupidity had cost her her home but more importantly it had lost her the only family she had left. Whilst she at least had a friendly face to talk to she knew Nico would be left with no one. Once again she thought back to their last real conversation and wished desperately she could have apologised. Now it was up to Frankie to rescue her. That tenuous link to freedom was all that kept her going through the isolation of her guilt. Please just let him be safe she thought to herself before watching Frankie again pick up his rock and start hammering at the cage door.

**Author's note - Hi all my awesome readers, sorry if that got a bit heavy towards the end but this is pretty much the low point for Janet, being left alone to her guilt with nothing to distract her. Don't worry, I'm going to try to make the next chapter more cheerful and eventful. Also I'm sorry for the long time between updates but my A-level exams are coming up soon so I'm under intense revision pressures. Still finding some spare time though ;-)**

**Once again a shout out to all the epic Rio fanfic and their authors who have kept me going nad inspired me to write, they cannot get enough credit for some of my ideas. (Only some, not all he he). See you all next chapter and please leave a review or PM me, I would love any constructive criticism or simple encouragement to let me know if I'm on the right track. This is for your enjoyment too.**

**Strykeruk out.**


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